Please help: My poor axie is all scratched up :'(

[lucyz83]

I woke up this morning to find little toothless with scratches on his body (see attached photos, there a white looking scratches behind his gills and at the base of his tail ) I think it was caused by him panicing or swiming fast in a new log enclosure i put in the tank a week ago ( i have removed it and replaced it with his original garden pot hide which is completely smooth, so hopefully this won't happen ever again) He's still eating and his water has been great for some time now so that's quite good but i was wondering if anyone knew of anything that would aid the scratches healing? I'm just worried and don't want this to turn into an infection.

Thanks in advance.

 

[LSuzuki]

The best prevention is to make (and keep) the water conditions as good as possible, so large water changes if necessary to get nitrates down very low, and of course, nitrites and ammonia at 0.

Some people advocate Indian almond leaves or water conditioners containing aloe in such circumstances. I haven't used Indian almond leaves.

Some people also advocate 1 table spoon of aquarium salt per 10 gallons of water to help prevent fungus. Note: do not overdo the salt! This isn't a salt bath!

Don't use a salt bath or use the fridge treatment unless the fungus develops despite your best efforts.

Before trying any of the above suggestions, search this site and get more information and other peoples opinions and experiences. I'm not an expert. :happy:

 

[lucyz83]

Thanks very much for the reply, i'm thinking of trying the almond leaves. The water levels are relly good a the moment, though i might change some of the water a little more often in case. I don't want to try the salt as i'm afraid i'll cause more harm if i get it wrong by accident or something.

Thanks

 

[Elise]

Keeping the water parameters as close to ideal will ultimately be the best proactive measure to help your axolotl recover.

Some people advocate Indian almond leaves or water conditioners containing aloe in such circumstances. I haven't used Indian almond leaves.

Some people also advocate 1 table spoon of aquarium salt per 10 gallons of water to help prevent fungus. Note: do not overdo the salt! This isn't a salt bath!

I would advice against using any water conditioners with aloe, as they have been reported time and again to cause skin irritations with some axolotls. One such example is found in this thread: http://www.caudata.org/forum/f46-be...xolotl/85905-axolotls-covered-tiny-bumps.html

I would also argue that maintaining a stable and consistent water chemistry would be more beneficial to the wellbeing and recovery, than trying to manipulate the water chemistry with salts. Altering water chemistry without proper understanding can often lead to more issues.

 

[auntiejude]

I am also in the 'no aloe' camp - my axies hate the stuff.

Indian almond leaves (cattappa) are ideal for this situation, they can help prevent bacterial and fungal infections. You can also use Melafix (related to tea tree) in the tank at half the dose stated for fish.

 

[lucyz83]

Thank you both, will definately use the almond leaves in that case, his water parameters are very stable at the moment but when i use the leaves should i keep an eye on the ph? (i recall hearing about them making it more acidic)

 

[LSuzuki]

The leaves are not likely to affect your water pH noticeably if you have hard water. If you have very soft water, the leaves could lower your pH.

 

[lucyz83]

Thanks! that's great. also good news his scratches seem to be healing up already, there are only one or two i can seen now, so i guess the others were not very deep which is a relief.